Los Angeles, CA (December 7, 2018) – Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB), a non-profit organization funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, today announced its 2018 funding recipients. Twelve new projects received funding including four funded through the recently established Current Issues Fund, made possible by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

This year’s awardees include nine documentary projects and three digital media shorts; ten of the twelve funded projects are helmed by Latina filmmakers. The projects explore the breadth of the Latino experience, from Puerto Rico to Mexico to Brazil, as well as stories about Latino Americans from coast to coast. Highlights include Nina Alvarez’s The Temporary Decades, on the fate of over 200,000 Salvadoran-Americans who will face deportation in 2019 when their Temporary Protection Status expires; Cecilia Aldarondo’s Treasure Island, a look at Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane María; and Christina Fernandez and Andrew Shapter’s Porvenir Texas, that revisits the 1918 massacre of fifteen Mexican men along the Texas border.

“We’re very excited about this year’s funded projects – they’re particularly timely and explore issues that our country is grappling with, from immigration to criminal justice to economic inequality,” says Sandie Viquez Pedlow, Executive Director of Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB). “We’re proud to support these talented filmmakers and bring their unique perspectives to a national audience on PBS.”

Every year LPB invites independent filmmakers to submit proposals for production, post-production and digital support. All proposals are reviewed by a group of public media professionals, including journalists, independent filmmakers, academics, and executives from national funding organizations.

The 2018 awarded projects are as follows:

Current Issues Fund (CIF)

The Temporary DecadesProducer/Director: Nina AlvarezCategory: Post production; 1 Episode/60 MinutesOn September 9, 2019, over 200,000 Salvadorans who have legally lived and worked in the U.S. over the past 17-35 years will be declared illegal. They will either be deported or forced to live in the shadows when their Temporary Protection Status expires. Three families fight one more battle against U.S. Government policies to reclaim their right to remain in the country they call home.

The Age of WaterProducer/Director: Isabel AlcántaraCo-Producer/Co-Director: Alfredo AlcántaraCategory: Post-production; 1 Episode/90 MinutesThe Age of Water follows the story of a young mother who, while trying to find out why her town’s children are dying of leukemia, inadvertently uncovers the Mexican government’s dark business of water.

American ExileProducer/Director: John ValadezCategory: Post Production; 1 Episode/60 MinutesFifty years after they fought in Vietnam, two Mexican American brothers face deportation, and discover thousands of veterans who now struggle with the same fate.

The Esparza Project (W.T)Producer/Director: Maria Agui CarterCategory: Research & Development; 1 Episode/90 MinutesAn exploration of the case of Patricia Esparza who has spent the last six years in prison for a crime committed 20 years ago – the killing of her rapist by her then-boyfriend. Her story encapsulates the contentious and complex system of crime and punishment in America and shows how Patricia’s story unfolds from her not initially reporting the assault to the police, and how many victims are shamed into keeping sexual assault a secret.

Public Media Content Fund (PMCF)

Dear HomelandProducer/Director: Claudia Escobar, KQEDExecutive Producer: Kelly Whalen, KQEDCategory: Post-production; 1 Episode/60 MinutesDear Homeland is the story of Mexican singer/songwriter Diana Gameros and her 20-year journey as an undocumented immigrant from Cuidad Juárez, Mexico to Grand Rapids, Michigan and San Francisco as she waits to resolve her immigration status. This is an intimate look at coming of age in a foreign country and finding one’s voice as a performer, told in large part through her hauntingly beautiful folk music.

Porvenir TexasProducer/Director: Christina FernandezCo-Producer/Co-Director: Andrew ShapterExecutive Producer: Hector Galan
Category: Production; 1 Episode/90 Minutes
In the early morning hours of January 28th, 1918, a group of fifteen fathers, uncles, brothers and sons were taken from their homes and executed. The town of Porvenir, Texas was burned to the ground, and the remaining women and children fled. Who were the killers? And why were they never brought to justice?

Skin of GlassProducer/Director: Denise ZmekholCategory: Production; 1 Episode/60 MinutesWhen filmmaker Denise Zmekhol discovers that her late father’s most celebrated work as an architect is now São Paulo’s largest high-rise slum, she returns to Brazil to explore her father’s legacy and confront the harsh reality of inequality destroying the city he loved.

Through the NightProducer/Director: Loira LimbalCategory: Production; 1 Episode/60 MinutesThrough the Night explores the personal cost of our modern economy for two working mothers and a childcare provider at a 24-hour daycare center.

The Daily WarProducer/Director: Karla LegaspyCategory: Digital Media; 1 Episode/10 MinutesA struggling single mother who is a veteran takes on a new job only to discover that the work environment triggers her PTSD.

JoyrideProducer/Director: Edwin GomezCategory: Digital Media; 1 Episode/9 MinutesTeenage Latina twin sisters break their grandmother out of her assisted living facility for one last joyride.

LucielaProducer/Director: Erin Ploss-CampoamorCategory: Digital Media; 1 Episode/10 MinutesLuciela is a fiercely independent Mexican American girl with a tight-knit family that loves celebrating the 4th of July. Everything changes, however, when her beloved father is deported to Mexico.

About Latino Public Broadcasting

Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) is the leader in the development, production, acquisition and distribution of non-commercial educational and cultural media that is representative of Latino people, or addresses issues of particular interest to Latino Americans. These programs are produced for dissemination to public broadcasting stations and other public telecommunication entities. Latino Public Broadcasting provides a voice to the diverse Latino community throughout the United States and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Latino Public Broadcasting produces the series VOCES, the signature Latino arts and culture documentary showcase on PBS and the only ongoing national television series devoted to exploring and celebrating the rich diversity of the Latino cultural experience. Between 2009 and 2018, LPB programs won over 111 awards, including the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award as well as two Emmys, Imagen Awards and the Sundance Film Festival Award for Best Director, Documentary. In addition, LPB has been the recipient of the Norman Lear Legacy Award and the NCLR Alma Award for Special Achievement – Year in Documentaries.

About the Current Issues Fund

The Current Issues Fund (CIF) provides production and post-production funding to documentary films (60 or 90 minutes only) exploring contemporary civic and social justice issues that integrate the Latino American perspective, incorporate a journalistic approach into the filmmaking process and have resonance for a national audience. The fund is made possible by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Latino Public Broadcasting is the leader of the development, production, acquisition and distribution of non-commercial educational and cultural media that is representative of Latino people, or addresses issues of particular interest to Latino Americans. These programs are produced for dissemination to the public broadcasting stations and other public telecommunication entities. LPB provides a voice to the diverse Latino community on public media throughout the United States.